Notes on a Scorecard - April 2, 1992

On April Fools’ Day, the biggest fools were the NHL owners and players. . . .

We are not talking baseball, basketball, or football here. Hockey is struggling to make an impact in the United States. It needed a strike like it needed a bench-clearing brawl. . . .

I love hockey and will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs if they are scrubbed, but the men’s and women’s Final Fours, the Laker and Clipper playoff drives, the Santa Anita Derby, the opening of baseball season and the Masters should keep me occupied the next couple of weeks. . . .

Several restrooms at the Sports Arena have been converted from men’s to women’s for the Final Four Saturday and Sunday. . . .

Breakfast food will be added to the menu at Sports Arena concession stands for the Saturday doubleheader, which begins at 9:30 a.m. . . .

Advance tickets have been sold only as two-day packages, but single-day tickets at $15 apiece will be available at the box office each day. . . .

Student-athletes: Eight of the 11 Southwest Missouri State players have grade-point averages of at least 3.27. . . .

Funny, but Rollie Massimino was one of the few coaches not mentioned as a possible successor to Jerry Tarkanian at Nevada Las Vegas. . . .

Culture shock is going from the Big East to the Big West. . . .

Michigan might be the first and last team to reach the Final Four with an all-freshman starting lineup. The NCAA basketball scholarship limit will be lowered from 15 to 13 next season, meaning schools probably won’t recruit as many as five freshmen in a single year. . . .

Wolverine Coach Steve Fisher is so low-key that it is easy to forget what an outstanding job he has done this season. . . .

It could be a good omen for Indiana that Bob Knight’s alma mater, Orrville High, won its first Ohio state championship last week. . . .

Look for Memphis State freshman Anfernee Hardaway to file for the NBA draft. . . .

One of USC’s recruits, 6-4 guard Brandon Martin from Fairfax High, has accepted an invitation to play in the prestigious ASICS Roundball Classic, formerly known as the Dapper Dan, at Pittsburgh April 10. . . .

Look-alikes: Heidi and Heather Burge of Virginia. . . .

If the Lakers and Clippers get into a bidding war for Hakeem Olajuwon, the edge probably would go to the Clippers, who could make younger players available in a trade with the Houston Rockets. . . .

Who said Stacey Augmon can’t shoot? Jerry Tarkanian, among others. But Augmon, playing for the Atlanta Hawks, has the fourth-highest shooting percentage among NBA rookies. . . .

Sebastian Coe, the only two-time Olympic Games gold medalist in the 1,500 meters, will run for Parliament next week. . . .

John Daly is averaging 284 yards off the tee. . . .

Orsino Hill, a rookie outfielder who is trying to make the Oakland Athletics’ roster, is Darryl Strawberry’s uncle. . . .

The absence of Kevin Mitchell has meant more walks for Will Clark during San Francisco Giant exhibition games. . . .

Angel rookie outfielder Chad Curtis seems to have the attitude--and ability--to become a regular. . . .

Signs of the times: The names of major league players who have been released often are followed by their salary in parenthesis. . . .

Brad (the Animal) Leslie, the poor man’s Rob Dibble, is pitching in Japan. . . .

Carlos Gonzalez, a junior welterweight from Mexico City who is 29-0 with 28 knockouts, will make his American debut April 20 at the Forum. Gonzalez, 19, has put away 21 of his opponents in three rounds or fewer. . . .

The bad news about the Santa Anita Derby telecast: It will be shown on tape delay, rather than live, locally Saturday on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” The good news: Al Michaels, one of the few sportscasters who is knowledgeable about horse racing, will be the host. . . .

“Irv Kaze on Sports,” a weekly hour radio talk show, begins Friday night at 7 on KIEV. First guest will be John Wooden. . . .

The nation’s top six ranked men’s volleyball teams--Cal State Long Beach, Stanford, Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara--are from California. . . .

Pat Perles, who has been hired by the Rams as a coaching assistant, is the son of Coach George Perles of Michigan State. . . .

Two Juniata (Pa.) College graduates attended the Academy Awards--Chuck Knox, coach of the Rams, and Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. . . .

Final Ones--Virginia at the Sports Arena and Indiana at the Metrodome.